Taste of Fury by M Comley (dark academia books to read txt) 📗

lowdown on things so soon, we usually have to wait until you’ve carried out the PM before you divulge your theory.”

Patti grunted, turned her back, walked past the couple lying on the ground and entered the depths of the forest which had been lit by her crew. They stopped alongside the bloody corpse of a man, surrounded by leaves.

“This is what I believe occurred. This unfortunate specimen of a man was hacked down, intentionally.”

Katy stared at the man and shook her head. “How do you know that, Patti?”

Patti sighed and pointed at the thin nylon wire lying on the leaves which Katy hadn’t noticed. “A tripwire, in all senses of the word.”

“Ah right, remind me to visit Specsavers the next time I’m in town, Charlie. That way I’ll be sure to spot something that’s staring me in the face next time.”

Charlie chuckled, but knew to keep her mouth shut.

Patti glared at Katy. “Sarcasm isn’t going to help this young man, is it, Inspector?”

“You’re quite right, it isn’t,” Katy replied, slapping herself on the wrist. “Behave, DI Foster.”

Patti ignored her and continued with her analysis. “The man was brutally attacked after his assailant tripped him up. He has several broken bones.” She pointed to the shin bone breaking through the fabric on his left leg. “He suffered a sustained attack, perhaps involving dozens of blows from a hard object, which at this time remains unknown.”

“So the culprit took the weapon with them? All we have to do is trace that person and hope they still have the weapon in their possession.”

“Mock all you like, DI Foster, it’s not uncommon for criminals to either dispose of the weapon or leave it at a crime scene, hence my reason for mentioning it.”

“I was joking, Patti, I didn’t mean to cause offence.”

Patti ignored her and knelt beside the victim. She raised a gloved finger and traced a patch of wet on his face. “He was gobbed on, sorry, spat on, therefore, I predict we’ll have genuine DNA evidence on this one.”

“Makes a bloody change,” Katy mumbled.

“I’ve taken a sample and sent it back to the lab already, because I’m efficient like that.”

“I’ve never doubted your professionalism or efficiency before, Patti, so stop sniping at me.”

“Just in case the thought crossed your mind. Anyway, as I said, the man suffered a sustained attack. Maybe he shouted out for help which angered his assailant more, hence the over-the-top thrashing he received. Going back to the other scene, mind your step, keep to the edge of the trees instead of the middle of the track to ensure we don’t disturb other possible evidence, if you don’t mind.”

Katy and Charlie did as instructed and within a few moments they were back with the couple. “What’s their story then, oh, Wise One?”

“This is pure conjecture on my part at this stage, but I’ve considered the scene carefully and feel sure I’ve made an accurate assessment, given the facts before me.”

“Enough of the waffling, get on with it,” Katy urged with the palms of her hands raised upwards.

Patti raised a finger in the air. “Here’s my take on the proceedings, then. I believe the killer may have been interrupted by the couple, either as they entered the forest or as they were standing right here.”

Katy frowned. “Why would the killer risk being seen in a public place like this? Do we know how popular this place is? What about in the evenings? Would you bloody go walking in the forest at night? I know I wouldn’t.”

“All valid questions.”

“I have a suggestion, if you want to hear it,” Charlie piped up.

Katy and Patti folded their arms and listened. “Go on,” Katy urged, aware of how insightful her partner could be at intriguing crime scenes. Katy put this down to Charlie’s time working with the K9 team and having to assess the scene thoroughly before setting the dog loose to track down a criminal or to search for an injured victim.

“What if the murderer, shall we call them, because, let’s face it, that’s what he or she is, after all, what if they were leaving the scene behind us and bumped into this couple? Fearing they might be able to identify the murderer, they decided to finish them off instead of just driving away from the scene.”

Katy mulled her partner’s suggestion over for a while under Patti’s watchful gaze. “The cogs are turning.” Katy grinned.

“I can actually see them gaining momentum,” Patti added with a grin. “I have something else to say, if you’ll allow me?” she added.

Brow knitted, Katy nodded. “Go on. What have we missed?”

“First of all, you need to listen to the original nine-nine-nine call. The man was the one who raised the alarm.”

“Okay, what are you suggesting happened then?”

“The killer emerged from the woods, possibly bumped into the couple who were just going in for an evening stroll. Yep, I can’t imagine why someone would come out here during the evening either, they had torches though.” Patti pointed at a couple of pen torches on top of the exposed tree roots close to the couple’s feet. “Anyway, my suggestion is that the couple discovered the other victim’s body and maybe ran back to confront the killer. Foolish of them, given what’s happened.”

“Okay, and then the killer attacked them, perhaps while he was placing the nine-nine-nine call,” Katy added, following Patti’s line of thinking.

“Sort of. Look at the way he’s holding her.”

“It hadn’t gone unnoticed, Patti, what are you getting at?”

She raised another finger and narrowed her eyes as she put her suggestion across. “What if, he rang nine-nine-nine and the killer decided to run, or drive off, I should say?”

“There’s something you’re holding back, what is it?”

Patti smiled. “You know me so well. I go back to what I initially said about the way he’s holding his wife.”

Intrigued, Katy said, “Go on.”

“What if the killer, in their haste to leave the scene, mowed the woman down?”

“Hmm… is that likely? Maybe, I’m not sure. Okay, I’ll go along with